Volunteer Job at Myakka vs. Church

Tough Decision...  How exciting to get a job offer (on Nov 18th) to Volunteer at Myakka State Park for January through March 2012.  These are the hardest months (of course) to find a position in Florida.  We would just have to clean a few cabins for our spot in one of the most popular parks in the system.

Our Temple at Orlando, Florida...Don't miss it!



Myakka River

So what does this have to do with church?  RU kidding?  Any week we haven't been able to get to church has been a most unpleasant experience.  We absolutely need the recharge of taking the sacrament with people we love and who love us....unconditionally.  Here's the reply I sent to the offer:  "It looks like an excellent opportunity. We have been cleaning the cabins at Bahia Honda SP, so you might say we've had some training already. We don't know if this will be a problem, but it's important for us to go to church on Sunday. We'd need a few hours in the morning, but would be available in the afternoon...and of course all day on any other day of the week.  Please let us know what you think. Thanks so much, Bob & Eileen White"

Here's the reply:  "I am afraid that would be a problem.  Sundays are our biggest check out days for the cabins so we would need at least a 10:00 am start time on Sundays. I really appreciate your honesty in this matter."

The fact we lost the position was no surprise at all.  Even in Utah, where church attendance is generally a way of life, we'd been told by our area managers that no one would be allowed to go to church next season (even though we'd only be gone for an hour, or even less).  We absolutely wanted to take the position.  We already knew how deliciously fascinating Myakka is.  We loved it well from our former visits as Florida residents. 

We knew how thick it was with gators and armadillos.  One of our most vivid memories was of turkey vultures picking the flesh from the armor of slain armadillos in the park.  We loved the skywalks and airboats and perfect biking trails.  We even enjoyed the feral pigs and their bursts of activity in the understory that got your adrenaline busy raising your blood pressure.

Myakka is one of those horse-loving parks, too.  Just pick up a horse trail map  ...and start your adventure.  There's about 14 miles of trail right in the park...through the marshes and over the hammocks!  Giddy-up...

Wildlife abounds...you may even see a Burro...??

So what did we lose by choosing our life-enriching experiences at Church vs. volunteering at Myakka?  Here's the list of benefits we were emailed by the Volunteer Coordinator: 

Emergency in the Florida Keys

 

Life is more than good at Bahia Honda..... for the mosquitoes.  We just completed our emergency evacuation.   This chair is in our "back yard" breeding ground at the Volunteers' RV parking. The camper in #20 emailed me today (Oct 28th) about their emergency evacuation, after vicious mosquito attacks. And we were informed of at least one other camper who had to get medical attention for their bites. Hurricane Rina is now a tropical storm, which chose The Keys as its dumping grounds for the moisture it's been scooping up in The Gulf. At first a lake rising around us was rather a novelty. Our neighbor, John, just got out his kayak to mock the flood. But then the police boat SANK, Buttonwood Campground vanished under water, and our RV sank ever deeper in the sodden mess.

The brown waters of the campground made islands of the restrooms.  The campers were very brave.  Here's Volunteer Andrew strolling in our front yard.  And the last pictures are of park rangers saving the police boat. 

So...what does one do?  There are better things to do with a life than offer your body as mosquito bait and live trapped in an RV to escape the bugs, mud and weather.  Let's go on an adventure!  We really are in Florida, and our youngest son and his darling family are in Orlando.  Where should we flee?    (2B continued....)